During wash and rinse cycles, dishwasher appliances generally circulate a fluid through a wash chamber over articles, such as pots, pans, silverware, etc. The fluid can be, e.g., various combinations of water and detergent during the wash cycle or water (which may include additives) during the rinse cycle. Typically, the fluid is circulated during a given cycle using a circulation pump. Fluid is collected in a sump at or near a bottom of the wash chamber and pumped back into the wash chamber through, e.g., nozzles in spray arms and other openings that direct the fluid against the articles to be cleaned or rinsed.
Depending upon the level of soil on the articles, fluids used during wash and rinse cycles will become contaminated with soils in the form of debris or particles that are carried with the fluid. In order to protect the pump and recirculate the fluid through the wash chamber, it is beneficial to filter the fluid so that relatively clean fluid is applied to the articles in the wash chamber and materials are removed or reduced from the fluid supplied to the pump.
Accordingly, dishwasher appliances generally include a filter assembly to remove such soils from the fluid. In certain dishwasher appliances, the filter assembly is configured as a cylindrical filter surrounding the circulation pump within the sump of the dishwasher appliance. However, with such a configuration certain portions of the filter can more easily or quickly become clogged or plugged up.
Therefore, a dishwasher appliance having a filter assembly capable of unclogging at least a portion of the filter assembly would be useful. Moreover, a dishwasher appliance having a filter assembly capable of purging at least a portion of the filter at least one per wash cycle would be particularly beneficial.